How to Make Stovetop Christmas Potpourri – make your home smell like Christmas with this simple holiday recipe! A natural, non-toxic way to make your home smell like the holidays.
Make it a Holiday Tradition
Christmas has always been a time of year that brings family together over the years. Sometimes that looks like fun winter activities outside, cozying up to a good movie with the fireplace roaring, or a cooking and baking with the kids and just enjoying good food and drink.
One of the ways Christmas sticks out to me in my mind is always the smell of Christmas. The yummy cranberry rosemary chicken at holidays parties or the stovetop potpourri simmering on the stove, simultaneously exhilarating and calming all senses.
The Best Christmas Potpourri Recipe
Christmas potpourri is a natural, non-toxic way to make your home smell glorious, with all of the fresh scents of Christmas.
By making this stovetop potpourri year after year, the wonderful smell of Christmas will forever be saved as a core memory–always reminding us of the most special time of the year.
Simply throw the ingredients together in a pot of water over the stove, and simmer for hours. The smell fills up your home and makes it feel that much more cozier during the holidays!
I love to let the kids help with this, as my 9 year old is beginning to use the stove more with me. It really is such a beautiful family tradition that we can enjoy together, and let simmer while doing any other Christmas activity like decorating gingerbread cookies or the finishing touches on our Christmas tree.
What Makes This Holiday Potpourri So Amazing?
- It smells just like Christmas! You can thank the warm spices, citrus, pine, cranberry and rosemary scents to provide all of the holiday magic. Natural and fresh scents to fill your home with joy and holiday spirit!
- It’s natural and non-toxic! Enough said, really. You don’t need harmful chemicals from candles and wax warmers when you can use fresh ingredients for fresh smelling air in your home.
- Use up produce from your fridge! The perfect time of year to use up old produce like cranberries and oranges. If you have other fruit on the verge of sadness like tangerines and mandarins, use them!
- You can tweak it! A variety of citrus fruits will work well for this recipe, so don’t be afraid to switch up the oranges for lemon or grapefruit for example. Use apples instead of cranberries, and even change up the spices to your preference. Play around with cardamon, cinnamon and nutmeg and see what you like best. Sometimes even adding vanilla or almond works great!
- Perfect for hosting! Perfect for Christmas day, Christmas dinner, or get togethers. This gets everyone into the holiday spirit!
- Makes a great gift, too! You can even put together a gift jar with dried ingredients to gift a teacher, friend or loved one. Simply used dried cranberries and oranges for this, and add the directions.
Ingredients for Stovetop Christmas Potpourri
- Oranges – sweet and fresh and good vibes only. Perfectly paired with the warm spices. You can use many other citrus fruits like lemon, grapefruit, mandarins, tangerines, or even apples!
- Cranberries – Easy to find in the grocery store and super affordable, they add a beautiful bright red colour to the pot and a just the right amount of sweetness. They can be used in almost any Christmas recipe, food or drink!
- Pine Needles – We usually grab a few sprigs or fresh pine needles from our trees outside, cutting pieces about 2-3 inches in length. Alternatively, you could add a few drops pine or spruce essential oils for this! Fresh rosemary is also amazing for adding a pine-y scent.
- Vanilla – Hints of vanilla also add to the sweetness of the potpourri and definitely make dreams come true. You’ll want to use a pure vanilla extract for this, and if you have vanilla beans, even better.
- Whole Cloves – Adds the perfect warm spice scent to this recipe. Whole cloves help to prolong their scent for longer periods of time, so try using whole over grounded. You can also use whole nutmeg, cardamon, or a blend of it all known as allspice.
- Cinnamon Sticks – Similarly to whole cloves, whole cinnamon sticks have a longer lasting scent as well. This a must when refrigerating and reheating the potpourri.
- Ginger – Ginger is a must ingredient in almost any potpourri recipe. It’s added warm spice is a great addition with calming and therapeutic effects, reducing any stress or negative emotions. Add whole (chopped) or drops of ginger essential oil.
What Else Can You Add to Stovetop Potpourri For Christmas?
The ingredient list above always works the best for me and are my go-to ingredients for holiday stovetop potpourri. However, if you’d like to add more, you can also incorporate apple slices, nutmeg or allspice, or other citrus fruits. Keep in mind that each extra ingredient adds a slightly different scent but can easily be made into exactly how you like it!
Tips and Suggestions For Christmas Potpourri
- Slow cooker method. This recipe works just as well in the slow cooker! Set it and forget it, while it simmer all day long.
- Use whole and dried ingredients for gifting. This will make it easy to wrap in a jar or container, staying fresher for longer, and a for more concentrated and longer lasting scents during the simmering process.
- Substitutions. Easily swap out the oranges for other citrus fruits on hand like mandarins, tangerines, grapefruits, or lemons. You can use apples instead of cranberries, and other spices like pumpkin spice, allspice, and even almond extract for different flavouring. Play around with what you have on hand!
- Simmer for hours and hours. This potpourri can be simmered on low for hours with the scent lasting for up to 2-3 days.
- Prolong the the scent. After the pot is off the heat and cooled after each use, place in the refrigerator overnight and covered. This can prolong the freshness up to 4 days!
- It may or may not be consumed depending. With the direct recipe, it would be safe to drink, but the tartness from the cranberries and the pine scents can be overwhelming. If you end up using essential oils, I would not consume just to be on the safe side. Other than that, everything is natural and good for health!
How to Make Your Home Smell Like Christmas! (Stovetop Potpourri Directions)
- Cut your orange into slices — they look pretty and yield the most scent.
- Gather fresh pine sprigs 2-3 inches long by trimming an outside pine tree. Or use alternatives like rosemary.
- Add all of the ingredients into a medium pot with 4-6 cups of water. You can add more water later as the potpourri simmers.
- Bring the pot to a light simmer on low heat. No need to bring to a boil, unless you are in a hurry. A light simmer will allow the smell to last for hours, even days.
- Simmer for as many hours as you’d like! You can add more water as needed, as you go since it evaporates over time. You can simmer on low heat all day long!
More Christmas Recipes You’ll Love!
- Vegan No Bake Christmas Almond Balls (Gluten-Free)
- One Pan Cranberry Rosemary Chicken (Keto, Paleo, Whole 30)
- Healthy Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate (GF, Keto, Vegan, Paleo, Whole 30)
- Oven Roasted Stuffed Turkey (Easy, Keto, Low Carb, Gluten-Free)
- Super Easy Slow Cooker Apple Cider (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Paleo)
- Keto Frosted Cheesecake Fat Bombs (3 Ingredients, Sugar Free, GF)
- No-Bake Holiday Energy Balls (Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegan)
- Healthy Homemade Eggnog (Vegan, Paleo, Whole 30, Sugar Free)
How to Make Stovetop Christmas Potpourri
A natural, non-toxic holiday recipe to make your home smell like Christmas!
Ingredients
- 4-6 cups water
- 1-2 oranges sliced
- 1 cup cranberries whole
- 2-3 sprigs pine needles or rosemary
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp cloves whole (see notes for more options)
- 1 tsp ginger whole, sliced
Instructions
- Cut your orange into slice. Gather fresh pine sprigs 2-3 inches long. Add all of the ingredients into a medium pot with 4-6 cups of water.
- Bring the pot to a light simmer on low heat.
- Simmer for as many hours as you'd like! Add more water as needed.
Notes
Slow cooker method. Add all ingredients to a slow cooker with 4-6 cups of water and cook on high uncovered, adding more water as necessary.
Substitutions. Easily swap out the oranges for other citrus fruits on hand like mandarins, tangerines, grapefruits, or lemons. You can use apples instead of cranberries, and others like nutmeg, cardamon, pumpkin spice, allspice, even almond extract. You can also use essential oils like pine or spruce or ginger.
Use Whole Spices. Whole cinnamon sticks and cloves (get them on Amazon!) are always so handy to have in the pantry. They smell amazing and last so much longer in the potpourri in my opinion!
Simmer for hours and hours. This potpourri can be simmered on low for hours with the scent lasting for up to 2-3 days.
Prolong the the scent. After the pot is off the heat and cooled after each use, place in the refrigerator overnight and covered. This can prolong the freshness up to 4 days!
It may or may not be consumed depending. With the direct recipe, it would be safe to drink, but the tartness from the cranberries and the pine scents can be overwhelming. If you end up using essential oils, I would not consume just to be on the safe side. Other than that, everything is natural and good for health!
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